The Oasis
This story has a mysteriousness around it, until you figure out the source. Then it's just dang freaky. A small, lithe cat padded into the clearing. It was beautiful. He stopped, admiring the light and how it glinted off the dew grass and the wet leaves. A mouse scampered across his path. He twitched his whiskers, getting ready to pounce. As he leaped, a breeze blew his fur. He landed with his claws in the mouse, but it just squeaked with fear and scampered away, unhurt. Then, with a cry, he was thrown across the clearing to the ground, blood seeping from his throat. This place was a dangerous place. ---- Part 1 - Arrival Chapter 1 :"Good luck," the kits chorused. "You'll need it!" :I twitched my whiskers, amused. "I'm just going to try hunting in a new place, little ones." :"ScarClan forbid you're hurt," a she-cat's voice breathed in my ear. "I don't think I could live." :I licked my mate's nose, causing the kits to squeal our names and lower their gaze. :"I will see you again, Blossompelt," I murmured to my mate. Louder, I added, purring, "And Briarkit and Robinkit better not give you any trouble." With a playful growl, I pawed their ears. They took it as an invitation to leap on me and dig their claws into my back. :"We'll be okay, Snowtail," Blossompelt murmured to me, helping me pry the kits off. :A yowl sounded from across the camp. "Snowtail! Hurry up, we don't have all day!" :"That'll be Sunstripe," I mewed. I licked the kit's noses and both of Blossompelt's ears, then I mewed a goodbye and crossed the clearing to a group of cats. :I was hunting in a new place known to us cats as the oasis. I was in a patrol, led by a tom named Sunstripe, a ginger tabby tom. :It was a bigger hunting patrol than usual, five cats instead of the usual three. :My leader, Gingerstar, was also there. "The Oasis is dangerous," she reminded us. "Never let each other out of sight, or you'll pay dearly. This isn't meant to be a mission that costs a life for our Clan." :Sunstripe nodded, determination in his eyes. "I won't let you down, Gingerstar," he mewed boldly. Everyone else rolled their eyes: it was obvious that Sunstripe wanted to be deputy. :Gingerstar nodded and looked long and hard at Sunstripe. "I'm trusting you with my cats," she mewed. "Don't let me down." With that, she turned away, catching my eye as she padded away. :I knew what that meant. If Sunstripe made a stupid decision, I was in charge. Another cat named Birchtail saw it, too, and gave me a small nod. He would back me up if needed. :"Let's go," Sunstripe mewed gruffly. :With a small sigh, the rest of us followed. :I looked at my companions. There was Cedarstep, a dark gray tabby tom that had the tendancy to stutter when he was scared. Thrushflight, a reddish she-cat, who was almost never quiet, and Birchtail, who I didn't know too well. I knew that he trusted me, though. :"Please," I prayed to StarClan, "let me get out of this alive." :It turns out that StarClan takes things a bit too literally sometimes. :I gritted my teeth as I saw Sunstripe make his first stupid decision- leap over a large crevise in a rock. It was irreversable, too, so we all had to try. :Thrushflight went first, as she was the one that looked the least nervous. She cleared it with a tail-length to spare, her eyes glimmering with pride as she turned back to watch us. :Birchtail went next, his tail buffeting in the wind as he flew through the air. He landed, but he hadn't jumped far enough for his back paws to land safely. As he slid backwards, looking suprised and scared, Thrushflight and Sunstripe leaped forward to pull him back. :Cedarstep and I were left on our side. "Y-y-you go," Cedarstep invited, stepping back. :"I think it's better if you go first," I informed him under my breath, stepping back a bit further. :Cedarstep let out a shuddering sigh and prepared to jump, but just as he leaped, I heard a yowl from behind me. :I took no hesitation to jump after my Clanmate. I landed with my front paws scrabbling on the earth and the breath knocked out of me. :Cedarstep had landed safely and was now pulling me up, I felt him shaking as his jaws grabbed my paw. Birchtail helped him. :"Heard a yowl..." I breathed, trying to catch my breath, trying to get my grip on the ground. :All of the cats stared at me like I was a mouse-brain. "What?" Sunstripe asked. :"A yowl. From that way," I added, jerking my tail behind me. :Cedarstep shook his head slowly. "I didn't h-hear it-t," he stammered, showing that he was scared. :I nodded. "Okay, maybe I was just scared to be alone." I hated lying. :"We're here," Sunstripe mewed after a while. After days of traveling and yowling for Cedarstep to stop stuttering and nights of sleeping and guarding, we were there. :The question was, however, where was there? Chapter 2 :Light shone through the trees in visible streaks in the sky. The trees were perfectly spaced, perfectly green. The leaves shivered as if they were dancing in a soft breeze. :Beyond the forest was a field filled with lush grass and surrounded by shrubbery. In the middle of the field was a tree, whose shadow was always perfect. The branches were perfect. :Everything about this place was perfect, I noticed. :I remembered Gingerstar's name for this place: the Oasis. :The prey must be perfectly plump here, too, I realized. :I kept a lookout as Sunstripe led us through the forest. We went slowly, marveling at the beauty of it. :There was something missing. A threat. :And then... :Sunstripe was thrown against a tree by what seemed like nothing. Nothing at all. I heard the noise of his body being crushed with the impact, and the tree creaked. :Sunstripe fell to the ground. He made no sound. :He was perfectly dead. :Cedarstep choked on air and looked like he wanted to die himself. :Thrushflight's eyes were filled with pain and suprise. :Birchtail's eyes were on me, waiting for my reaction. :I stood stone-still, staring at Sunstripe. My heart pounded with fear. I didn't show it. :I choked on air, trying not to scream. I noticed the other three living cats were trying to regain their ability to breathe, too. :Finally, air came, filling me with relief. Thrushflight collapsed next to Cedarstep. :The voice came, high-pitched and echoing. "I am perfect," it whispered. "I am perfect, and you will believe it!" The voice rose to a piercing scream that made me shiver. "Do not cross the territory line! You are trapped here forever, Clan cats." :Trapped. The word echoed in my head as I fell into blackness, feeling the warm, furry grass tickling my nose. :I woke with a groan, feeling my tail twitch. I stood quickly, looking around at the beauty. I could see every mountain from here, which was amazing. It was beautiful when we were journeying through them, but now I was above them. :A thought struck me. Who is "we"? I took a step forward and my paw slipped on a ledge. My fur bristled as I pulled it back and stared down. :A yowl of pain echoed from below- down. I recognized it- Thrushflight. I shivered, imagining her fate. :Now, it was just me. Alone. Cedarstep and Birchtail were somewhere else, probably trying to find each other. I was standing alone, staring down at where I had heard Thrushflight. :I gritted my teeth. "Great leading," I muttered. "You're staring over a cliff and cats are dying." :A shimmer appeared in midair- I saw the faint outline of a cat, eyes gleaming, claws unsheathed. :This was too weird. I turned and ran away. :The grass rustled. My eyes darted to a mouse, still, staring at me. :I crept toward it, sticking out a claw. This would be easy. :The mouse reared and bit my paw, sending pain jolting through me. I backed away. :"Don't kill me," the mouse squeaked at me. "You eat the squirrels, and leave the mice alone. We've had a problem already." It scampered away, leaving me thinking about how a mouse had just communicated with me. :I slipped between the trees, perfectly dense, perfectly straight. Light filtered through the leaves above me. "Cedarstep?" I called hopefully. "Birchtail?" :Rustles. Perfect. In the bushes. My heart pounded as they continued. If it was a cat, then I was a mouse. I was going to die, going to die... :"Snow- Snowtail?" a voice stammered. I huffed in relief as Cedarstep emerged from his place in a bush. :"Where's Th-Thrushflight?" Cedarstep stammered nervously. :"Gone," I replied hoarsely. "I don't know where Birchtail is, either." :"He was t-taken," Cedarstep stammered. "By nothing, but he was dragged away and I couldn't save him, oh, S-StarClan, save us..." he moaned. :I sighed. "Well, it's just me and you, then..." I muttered. Way to go, Snowtail, I scolded myself, you lost two more cats. I walked away from Cedarstep, to a pond, where I stared into the depths. I was afraid to drink it, but it looked so refreshing... :"D-don't drink it, S-Snowtail," Cedarstep warned. "I-it could make you shrink or something." :"Expect the unexpected," I mewed darkly. I steped away from the pond and turned back to him. :My heart pounded as we searched each other for signs of trouble, then searched the forest around us for signs of beings beyond... :There were none. :We stayed where we were. Chapter 3 :A quiet wind ruffled my fur only slightly as I slept: I could only see blackness tonight. :But I sensed it: a presence so powerful, so deep, so intimidating. It blocked my vision and muffled my hearing. :I could only hear... it. :"Snowtail," it cooed, "you aren't scared, aren't you? You're the leader now, according to Birchtail." :"They're alive," I whispered. :"Alive and well, yes. Come retrieve them, Snowtail, and meet me. We can feast on my own prey, hm?" :My vision and hearing was restored. Cedarstep was shaking, staring at me. "What's wrong?" he whispered. :"They're alive," I told him. "Some cat has them, we have to find them." :I didn't say how I found out. Cedarstep didn't ask. "I heard a conversation over... that way... once," he mewed. He wasn't stuttering. He wasn't scared, or he had learned to conceal it more. :"You did," I asked, suprised. "Well, this is easy." I allowed him to lead me through the forest. :And we came across a sight. A horrible, disgusting sight. :"Go!" a cat screeched. He was standing on a branch. :Below him were many cats. They seemed distracted, almost, but they were too involved in doing the branch cat's bidding. :"Go," the branch cat screeched again, then turned around. "Come here," he called. "Both of you." :I hid behind a bush, Cedarstep followed. :Two cats emerged from a bush near us. They looked eerily familiar. :"Go behind the trunk," the branch cat commanded the two cats. "I sense our visitors are near..." :Cedarstep, I noticed, was trembling beside me. :"Call for them," the branch cat whispered. "They will hear you and emerge from where they are hiding." :I heard Birchtail's voice call "Snowtail, Cedarstep!" before I realized that the branch cat knew we were there. :Cedarstep hid behind me. "You go f-first," he whispered. :I obeyed. I had no other choice. I emerged from our hiding spot. :"Here we come," the branch cat sneered, leaping down from his post. "Now we're talking, one strong cat and some bait. Good, good," he cooed. :"We're warriors," I told him angrily. "We're not bait." :"Oh, Snowtail," the branch cat whispered, "your companion- Cedarstep, right?- is only here so your leader can say he did something for the Clan." :I hissed. "How do you know our names?" I demanded. :The branch cat purred, staring me down. "I am Link," he told me, as if it were obvious and I was only a kit. "I know everything. I know that one of your kits was killed by a fox, Snowtail, and that your mate is wishing you return." :I sank to the ground. "W-which one is dead?" I whispered. :"Briarkit," Link told me happily. "She was killed by a fox just this morning. She and Robinkit were trying to be heroes." :"No," I whispered. "No..." My heart felt empty. I hoped Blossompelt and Robinkit were okay. They had to be. :"Don't worry," Link whispered. He seemed more dangerous than ever. "Briarkit's in StarClan or something." :I want to kill Link. Rake my claws down his face. See his blood, see his pain. Right in front of my eyes. :I hate Link. I despise him. :The presence is there again. It swirls through me. :I love Link. I will do anything for him. He is my friend. He will always be, along as this presence is... :I can tell Cedarstep feels the same way. My heart warms to him. All he wanted was a friend. I guess he finally found one. :My mind slips into a carefully controlled darkness. :I fall asleep. Part 2 is called Struggle. Look for it... whenever I decide to post it. xD Category:Fan Fictions Category:Forestpaw13's Fanfictions